Workshop Of Giovanni Battista Pittoni (venice, 1687 – 1767), Madonna Reading
Workshop of Giovanni Battista Pittoni (Venice, 1687 – 1767)
Madonna reading
Oil on canvas, 55 x 43 cm
The painting Madonna Reading, attributed to the workshop of Giovanni Battista Pittoni, is fully within the refined cultural climate of Venetian Rococo, of which Pittoni was one of the most authoritative protagonists. The work depicts the Virgin captured in a moment of intimate meditation: seated, wrapped in a large blue cloak, she holds a small prayer book in her hands, while her gaze, lowered and absorbed, suggests a dimension of silent recollection and sweet spirituality. The work closely resembles numerous autograph paintings by Pittoni dedicated to the same Marian subject. In particular, the comparison with the Madonna preserved at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin highlights affinities in the typology of the face, in the gentle inclination of the head and in the collected setting of the figure. Similar consonances are found with the Madonna he reads today in an unknown location but published in the catalogue of the Federico Zeri Foundation as an autograph work by the Venetian painter, as well as with the Madonna preserved in a private collection in Genoa. In all these examples, the same suspended atmosphere, the same formal elegance and a similar attention to the dialogue between color and light recur, elements that suggest a close dependence on the model devised by the master. From a historical-artistic point of view, the creation of the painting can be placed within the framework of the Pitton workshop, when, around the 1720s, the artist's personality had by then clearly defined itself. Trained under the guidance of his father Francesco Pittoni, Giovanni Battista was able to develop an autonomous language, capable of combining monumentality and grace, as demonstrated both by the large decorative cycles –including the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas for San Stae and the canvases in the Tombeaux des Princes– and by the devotional compositions of a more intimate format, intended for private and contemplative use. In this reading Madonna, Pittoni's workshop faithfully incorporates and reworks the master's vocabulary, conveying an image of intense sweetness and high formal quality. The painting thus constitutes a significant testimony to the success and diffusion of Pittonian models, as well as to the ability of his workshop to translate the unmistakable poetics of Venetian Rococo into coherent and refined works.
Madonna reading
Oil on canvas, 55 x 43 cm
The painting Madonna Reading, attributed to the workshop of Giovanni Battista Pittoni, is fully within the refined cultural climate of Venetian Rococo, of which Pittoni was one of the most authoritative protagonists. The work depicts the Virgin captured in a moment of intimate meditation: seated, wrapped in a large blue cloak, she holds a small prayer book in her hands, while her gaze, lowered and absorbed, suggests a dimension of silent recollection and sweet spirituality. The work closely resembles numerous autograph paintings by Pittoni dedicated to the same Marian subject. In particular, the comparison with the Madonna preserved at the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin highlights affinities in the typology of the face, in the gentle inclination of the head and in the collected setting of the figure. Similar consonances are found with the Madonna he reads today in an unknown location but published in the catalogue of the Federico Zeri Foundation as an autograph work by the Venetian painter, as well as with the Madonna preserved in a private collection in Genoa. In all these examples, the same suspended atmosphere, the same formal elegance and a similar attention to the dialogue between color and light recur, elements that suggest a close dependence on the model devised by the master. From a historical-artistic point of view, the creation of the painting can be placed within the framework of the Pitton workshop, when, around the 1720s, the artist's personality had by then clearly defined itself. Trained under the guidance of his father Francesco Pittoni, Giovanni Battista was able to develop an autonomous language, capable of combining monumentality and grace, as demonstrated both by the large decorative cycles –including the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas for San Stae and the canvases in the Tombeaux des Princes– and by the devotional compositions of a more intimate format, intended for private and contemplative use. In this reading Madonna, Pittoni's workshop faithfully incorporates and reworks the master's vocabulary, conveying an image of intense sweetness and high formal quality. The painting thus constitutes a significant testimony to the success and diffusion of Pittonian models, as well as to the ability of his workshop to translate the unmistakable poetics of Venetian Rococo into coherent and refined works.
2 800 €
Period: 17th century
Style: Other Style
Condition: Good condition
Material: Oil painting
Width: 43
Height: 55
Reference (ID): 1696863
Availability: In stock
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